A wide variety of drugs and/or other products are dispensed by healthcare providers, such as pharmacies. The risk for fraud and abuse rises when the drugs being prescribed and dispensed are controlled substances or scheduled drugs. Scheduled drugs are those drugs classified in one of five schedules as determined by the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The five schedules are categories separated by the abusive and/or addictive nature of the drug and include:                Schedule I—a category of drugs not considered legitimate for medical use (e.g., heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), etc.)        Schedule II—a category of drugs considered to have a strong potential for abuse or addiction but that also have legitimate medical use (e.g., opium, morphine, etc.)        Schedule III—a category of drugs that have less potential for abuse or addiction than Schedule I or II drugs and have a useful medical purpose (e.g., short-acting barbiturates and amphetamines, etc.)        Schedule IV—a medically useful category of drugs that have less potential for abuse or addiction than those of Schedules I, II, and III (e.g., diazepam and chloral hydrate, etc.)        Schedule V—a medically useful category of drugs that have less potential for abuse or addiction than those of Schedules I through IV (e.g., anti-diarrhea medication, etc.)        
For such controlled substances as well as other prescription drugs, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is placing an increasing emphasis on Risk Minimization Action Plans (RiskMAPs) and Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) at the point of granting drug product approvals. A RiskMAP or a REMS program is typically a strategic safety program designed to meet specific goals and objectives in minimizing known risks of a product while preserving its benefits. Typically, a suitable RiskMAP or REMS program targets one or more safety-related health outcomes or goals and uses one or more tools to achieve those goals. Over time, the effectiveness of the tools is evaluated and the benefit-risk balance for the product is reassessed. Appropriate adjustments are then made to the risk minimization tools to further improve the benefit-risk balance.
A RiskMAP or REMS program may incorporate a plan for controlling and closely monitoring drug inventories and drug supply ordering. However, when it comes to drug inventory management, many pharmacies participate in an open distribution model in which a virtually unlimited number of wholesalers distribute products dispensed by any number of pharmacies. This open distribution model typically does not support product distribution and product dispensing controls and monitoring desirable for high risk drug products. Accordingly, there is an opportunity for improved systems and methods for identifying RiskMAP and/or REMS compliance. Additionally, there is an opportunity for improved systems and methods for detecting potential fraud in association with the distribution of drugs and/or other products.